Cause of fatal fire still unknown as help sought for displaced family

RUGGLES Twp. -- Investigators talked Monday with emergency responders, family members and witnesses in an attempt to determine what happened in Sunday's fatal fire.

Steven L. Tolliver, 36, died in the fire at his home at 309 Ohio 60 North.

A neighbor and passerby called 911 shortly before 5:25 a.m. to report the fire. In another 911 call relayed through Huron County, Tolliver's wife, Amber, told a dispatcher her husband was on the floor near the back door.

Amber Tolliver said she had been inside the house when the fire started but managed to get out.

Firefighters arrived moments later. The house and vehicles in the yard were fully involved. The fire quickly consumed all but a few sections of the wooden framework.

Four children lived at the residence. They reportedly had spent the night elsewhere.

Steven Tolliver was taken to Cuyahoga County for an autopsy, said Shane Cartmill of the State Fire Marshal's office. Preliminary results might not be available until Wednesday, he said.

According to his obituary, Tolliver was a 1992 graduate of New London High School and lifelong resident of rural Greenwich.

The origin and cause of the fire remained undetermined and under investigation Monday.